Press Release - March 24, 2002

Arrests of Roman Catholic Bishop in China

Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A. - Bishop JIA Zhiguo, the underground Roman Catholic bishop of Zhengding, Hebei, was arrested about four days ago on March 20. We do not know where he is detained. Other details are unknown.

Bishop JIA is 67 years old and was ordained a bishop in 1980. He was previously in jail for about 20 years. He has been under strict surveillance for many years.

Joseph Kung, the president of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, said: "At a time when China declared its commitment to fighting terror, it creates terror among its own religious believers. At the joint press conference of President Bush and President Zheng Zhimin in Beijing recently, President Zheng stated that religious freedom in China is guaranteed by China's constitution. President Jiang Chi Ming further stated that those clergy that were arrested were because they had broken the law. This is obviously not true. The arrest of this underground Roman Catholic Bishop is an example of the continued religious persecution in China. History will prove that the criminals will not be those believers like Bishop Jia, who was arrested because he wanted to practice his religion according to his conscience. History will prove that the criminals will be those who persecute millions of Chinese religious believer like Bishop JIA."